Solar storm worries experts: "Will feel the effects"
Created: 01/26/2022, 22:23
Last week, a solar storm caused a stir.
Although the impact this time was small, the phenomenon is not to be trifled with.
Boulder/Munich - Mankind and its planet Earth are only a tiny part of the large universe, so external threats often pose a danger. In addition to the impact of a meteorite or other celestial body, so-called solar storms can also have a major impact on our lives.
Although it has been a few days since the last such event and the aftermath did not have an immediate impact on life on Earth, such storms can have dramatic effects.
Solar storm: English newspaper reported first danger
Last week, the English
Daily Express
reported the danger of a possible solar storm for the first time.
In this scenario, the sun sends radiation paired with highly energetically charged particles into space.
If these hit the earth, one speaks of a so-called solar storm.
According to a report on the website spaceweather.com
, exactly such a storm should
hit the earth between January 22, 23 and 24. US physicist Dr.
Tamitha Skov of "Fleeting Knocks on Earth's Magnetic Field".
Skov and her colleagues at the
US Space Weather Center
(SWPC) have been monitoring the weather in space for years and classified the storm at "G2 level".
Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, the developed model is used to classify the severity of the storm, with "G1 Minor" marking the most harmless and "G5 Extreme" the most dangerous developments.
"We're in the middle of this fast solar wind that's turning towards the Earth's impact zone," Skov told the
Daily Express
, while warning of another solar flare on Jan. 20.
"We will feel the effects of this outbreak over the next few days."
Solar Storms: Complicated scientific process
So far, at least in Germany, the storm has not had any major effects. However, this danger is always present, as Skov goes on to explain: “fluctuations in the power grid” but also “minor effects on satellite operations” could be triggered even by weak storms.
On the other hand, there is a significantly greater danger with the higher values on the scale.
"The extra radiation could damage our communications and navigation satellites, and it could disrupt the power plants that supply us with electricity."
In more detail, the charged particles of the eruption hit the ionosphere and can use their energy to "increase the density and density distribution in the upper atmosphere".
As a result, satellites close to the earth are particularly at risk, explains the SWPC.
"Local warming also produces strong horizontal fluctuations in ionospheric density, which can modify the path of radio signals and cause errors in position information provided by GPS."
The danger of a solar storm should not be underestimated.
